Eldest Daughter of the Bei Fong Family
by ClearwaterInnocence
Summary: Lin Bei Fong, the older sister of Toph, is the result of an affair between her mother and a fire nation man. The result of this making her a double bender, earth and fire. Being abused all her life, she runs away after hearing of a marriage contract. Taken in by the water tribe, Lin must learn to face her fears, her earth family, and finding her fire family and finding love in war


The Beginning of My Life:

"Mommy! Daddy! Let me out please!" I begged, I hit my weak little ten year old clutched fists against my locked bedroom door. "Please!" my voice dropped to a whimper and I fell to my already scabbed little knees. It has been this way for as long as I could remember. I was once again locked in my tiny bedroom that was barely the size of a closet. It happened almost every day, I was locked in here, it caused my fear of claustrophobic. It has caused me to panic and cry. My shoulders shook as tears fell from my eyes and dripping onto the stone of my bedroom floor.

My black hair hung in my face, stopping just passed my chin. It was lifeless and hung down. Although I had large man sized fingerprints bruising around my shoulders, in a last attempt, I slammed my already beaten body into the door. It didn't even shake. I let out a wail of despair as I was flung back from the force, slamming into the floor.

I submitted to my tears, shoulders shaking with my sobs as I dropped my head so my forehead touched the cold stone. Why? Why did they hate me? What did I ever do to my so call family? And although I asked these questions, I already knew the truth. How could I not? I was smarter than people gave me credit for. I have learned to listen and listening to their hate filled words were how I found out the truth surrounding my very existence.

About two years before I was born, my 'parents' got into their biggest fight yet. My mother packed her stuff and left on a vacation that was never supposed to end. But end it did when she discovered something horrifying that she hadn't expected. She was pregnant and not with her husband's child.

During this break, she took refuge to Ember Island on the edge of the fire nation. No one would think to look for her here of all places. An earth kingdom noble woman hiding in the fire nation during a war that had lasted for nearly ninety years at the time? Nowadays, it was nearing to nearly a hundred years of this horrid war.

While she was there, she fooled herself into loving a high up fire nation man, she never knew just what his position was. All she knew was that he was very powerful and a fire bender. But she didn't care, she fooled herself into believing in forbidden love, a forbidden love that didn't exist. All he wanted was some fun with a woman he would never think about again after his two months break. After all, why would he? He was already married, his wife waiting for his like a good little housewife noblewoman at home. Not only that, he already had a young son and his wife was about three months pregnant with their second child.

So when she told him, he laughed in her face and said he could never love a woman and that child was in no possible way his. She went back home in the earth kingdom to her husband in tears who took her back, if only to avoid a scandal that it would truly cause. Then I was born and from that moment, I was hated. Somewhere out there, I had a father who pretended I never existed and that was even if he remembered me, and at least two half siblings that probably didn't even know I existed. After all, I was just a reminded of a woman's unfaithfulness.

I slowly raised my head and in pain, pulled my bruised and bleeding body over to my water bucket in the corner of my room. Tears in the corners of my eyes, red tear marks down my cheeks, I looked into my reflection. I looked like a typical earth kingdom child. My skin was the tan the earth kingdom had but had become pale from the lack of being able to go outdoors. Why bother with me when I can just be locked in my room all day with barely any food and just a bucket of water. My black hair was like my mother's but was straighter, more fine and less of a hassle in the morning, should I ever do anything with it. I had a black eye and a cut on my bottom lip from a ring on that man's finger. Although I looked like an earth kingdom child, there was one finger that looked anything but. The arch of my eyes, including the color, was pure fire nation. The golden swirls stared at me through the reflection. Unless I clawed my eyes out, I would always be reminded of my birth and it's circumstances surrounding it. I cupped the water in my calloused hands and slapped it on my face. I hissed as it spilt into my cut lip.

The first time I was slapped, I was two years old and all because I had started drawing on the wall. Every child did that at some point, they obviously weren't too pleased with it. From there, it just got worse and worse. My father beat me on practically a daily bases. I took in a shuttering breath, feeling my ribs pull harshly. Hopefully one wasn't broken. I had that done when I was six and it was not fun. My mother however would always yell at me as if it was my fault I was born. Her words of how ugly I was, how plain and dull, how nobody would ever love me, always seemed to cause the worse pain in my heart.

I wore horrible clothing of a green shirt with the sleeves turn off. I had to tear them off at some point that I couldn't even remember, when a knife had been shoved into my arm. I still had the scars over my veins, luckily it missed any vital points. Or unluckily if you look at it that way. What kind of life was this for a child to live, feeling like she was worthless for simply being alive?

The view times I've been allowed outside the gates that surround the estate was only if somebody asked about me. At first, I was supposed to be kept a secret, hidden away from the world until I died, which may be sooner than later at this point. However, that plan ended when a friend of my 'parents' dropped by unexpected and it was clear to see since my mother was almost seven months pregnant at the time. The news quickly spread like wildfire. When I was told we were going out, my mother would yank on an old dress she used to wear when she was my age, and pull my hair into a tight and harsh bun that always yanked hard on my head, causing me more physical pain. Then she wouldn't care as she harshly stabbed white powder on my face to hide any bruising or black eyes or any problems really. And if it was seen, then I would have to claim I was a klutz despite never falling unless I was shoved which was usually what happened.

But I'm also have another reason for people to hate and fear me like my parents should it ever get out to the public. I was the first in history other than the avatar which didn't count since he could bend the four elements while I could only bend two, I was a double bender. I could bend both earth and fire to my will.

My grandmother, my mother's mother was an earth bender that skipped my mother's generation and passed to me. She died shortly after mom married father, before I was born so I never met her. I learned I could earth bend when I was six. I had thrown a tantrum, demanding why they hated me. I stomped the ground and it shook, a wall exploded. My parents looked so relieved that I hoped that meant they would love me.

I only learned later they were relieved because it would be easier to claim I was their child instead of my mother's and an affair. That didn't stop the truth that I was the result of an affair gone wrong. The beatings got even worse when I discovered I could fire bend just a year ago. I had thrown another tantrum as I was getting beat to death. I was so scared that I would truly die that I threw my fist at him. Only a fire ball came at him and he just dodged, it skimming the side of his face. The beatings and mental damage only got worse and worse as everyday passed.

To avoid questions being asked, the only real thing worth some value that I've got in my lifetime of ten years was a golden necklace. It was made of real gold shaped like our family signature, a flying boar. This necklace had been passed on from the eldest child to the eldest child for hundreds of generations of the Bi Fong Family. It was with thin metal but was clearly strung and well crafted. It proved my heritage as the 'heiress to the most prominent family in the earth kingdom' or so I've been told. I didn't really care. All it did was remind me of the cage I was forever locked inside of.

However, even through all this, I did have one single light in my life of darkness and despair. That light was a little girl who was born just passed my third birthday. I was currently ten and this little girl had just turned seven. Her name was Toph and she was my little half-sister, the real child of 'parents'.

This time they proudly showed off my mother as she got bigger and bigger for the baby. However, when the baby was born, they discovered something was wrong. She was beauty, they had the same hair although her skin was slightly darker. Then they kept this child hidden, cuddling her in the safety behind their walls, always treating her far to gentle, shielding her from the world. They lied and claimed the child had died at birth. However, I knew for a fact that the child was alive and well. I was actually the first to realize something was wrong. Nobody had even noticed I stood at my mother's bedside, staring at my new little half-sister.

She had been born blind. Her eyes were a pale faded grey, like a smog covering it.

Ironically, her name was Toph despite this physical weakness. My parents tried to keep us apart, as if I had some incurable disease that they didn't want to spread to the newborn. However, it was clear that my sister loved me more than our 'parents' ever could. She was always happy to see me and unlike me, a hand was never raised to her. And for that I was relieved. I would take a million beatings of near death if it meant my little sister would forever be safe.

Although only I could tell my sister was also in a cage. Our cages may be different, yes, but they were the same. I was trapped in a world of death, pain, and hatred. Hers was filled with overprotectiveness, not being able to grow, forced to be a weak child she was clearly not to be.

When I, the first, first saw her earth bend, I noticed that she listened to the earth as time went by. And each day she got stronger and stronger, unaware by our family. And it was then I realized that she was truly like her name described. People would look at her and see a weak helpless child. I saw someone who could one day grow and be strong, strong enough to break out of the cage that chained her to this estate. Something I never thought I could ever do.

I learned that her blindness was not a weakness like most people described, but her greatest strength.

Wanting to be strong to protect her, we used to sneak into the tunnels under the house we discovered one day and discovered badger moles. Seeing her learn how to earth bend without sight, caused me to get stronger. I would tie a blindfold over my eyes so I was as blind as her and the badger moles that trained us, I wanted to get stronger, so I could one day protect my sister should she ever need it.

That night, I dragged myself onto my cot and dropped my head onto my pillowcase filled with old newspapers instead of an actual pillow. But it wasn't anything I wasn't used to. So I fell into a restless sleep. Although I usually slept on my side, this time I laid on my stomach to sleep. My back and ribs were covered in marks, clearing a boot kicking and a belt had been taken to my skin.

This was my life.

Nothing would change.

I would forever be known as nothing more than the 'only' daughter of the Bei Fong Family.

Nothing would become of me. I would die here and nobody would truly care.

Except for maybe Toph but I'm sure she will soon forget about me.

My name is Lin Bei Fong. I am ten years old.

And nothing would become of me.

Nobody would truly know me yet alone even my name and who I truly was.

I would never find love, rather it be romantic or a simple friendship.

I had no idea how wrong I was at the time.

No idea what the flow of destiny had in store for me. But for now, this was my life.

And I would just have to live with that.

That night, I had the strangest dream. I was in some kind of…shop, just a simple shop I've never seen before but had a feeling I should, or would soon. I looked down at myself confused. My hair was longer down to my waist and in an elegant but simple knot on my head, the rest falling down simply. One glance in the reflection in the liquid of the tea cup in my hand, I could see my skin was slightly tanner, a more healthy glow. My cursed eyes were still the same gold. Only they looked less haunted, more happy. I glanced down at myself. My body looked older. Instead of my stick rail thin ten year old body, I had the body of a transforming woman. My chest had grown out so I had a c cup, my hips were curved and widened out into an hourglass figure like. I was covered by an elegant and beautiful green earth kingdom dress. I looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old. The biggest change was my stomach. From what I could remember from my mother's pregnancy, I was at least three months along.

I thought I should pale and faint or something. But instead, I felt oddly calm, at peace, truly happy and protective as I hesitantly touched my rounded stomach. My other hand reached up and touched something around my neck. Without knowing how I knew, I knew that what surrounded my neck was a betrothal necklace of blue stone representing the water tribes with the earth and fire insignia in it hooked together. I didn't seemed to be in control of my body as I walked over to a table surrounded with people I felt I should know but new I had never met. I learned over someone's shoulder that was sitting at the table in the center of the group. My hands were put gently on his shoulders, and my rounded stomach pressed gently into his back. I encircled my arms over his shoulders and rested gently on his chest, my chin on his shoulder as I bent over to see a poorly drawn group of people. I felt like I should freak out, I didn't know these people, but all I did was feel loved instead.

The man…boy man, looked at me grinning and my breath caught, my heart racing. He looked barely a year older than myself. He had spiky brown hair tied into a ponytail, what I knew was a 'warrior's wolf tail' if you wanted to call it that. His skin was much darker than my own. He wore a dark green earth kingdom robe although it was clear he was water tribe. He had the widest smile and his eyes were so blue filled with so much happiness. So much happiness…for me?

I looked to my left as someone put their hand on my shoulder. I didn't flinch or jump like I expected. All I did was smile at this girl I could feel was like a sister. She looked like the boy. They had the same dark skin tone and brown hair and blue eyes and gleaming smile. Although this girl looked about a few months to a year younger than me. Her brown hair was fixed similar to mine only held back with a large pink flower instead of a thin ribbon like mine was. She also wore a green earth kingdom outfit, only a different style. Her eyes were gentle and her smile spoke of happiness. I noticed she also wore a necklace with a similar stone as my own, only with a different sketching carved into it.

Another hand was put on my right shoulder and I looked to the right, unconsciously my smile grew more playful and teasing. This one was a boy who also wore fancy earth kingdom robes. His skin was about the same skin tone as my own. His hair was a dark brownish color. He looked about a year older than me, maybe slightly older than the water tribe boy I was leaning on. But my breath caught, with a different feeling then I had with the water tribe boy. No, this time was different. I wasn't startled by the large flame like scar that covered his right eye. Instead, I was more startled by the golden eyes he held. They were exactly the same as my own in every detail.

Someone came from behind the boy, wrapping her arms around him. This was a girl about his age wearing earth kingdom robes. She was extremely pale, as if she'd seen the sun less then I've had in my current lifetime. Her hair wasn't dark brown but was instead pure black falling to her waist. Her eyes were a darker shade of gold but it was clear her an this boy were in love from the gently way he moved to hold her hand.

There were two sounds of joyful laughter. The first belonged to a young boy on the other side of the water tribe girl. He looked no older than thirteen and he seemed extremely light and carefree although I could feel it wasn't always that way. He was bald with a blue tattoo I've only seen in books describing an airbending master that had long been extinct. His eyes were a bright grey gleaming with happiness, happy to be there with these people, these people I should know. I already had a feeling that…the water tribe boy was the father of my unborn child. And despite not knowing these people but feeling like I truly should, I was strangely ok with that fact.

The second belonged to what looked like a harmless old man but I could clearly sense that he was more dangerous than he looked. He looked old but still having youth inside him, feeling us all with warmth as he deeply laughed. And once again, I saw that his eyes were identical as my own, the same gold coloring stared back at me with warmth and love. Like a family should look at one another, like I felt like we should.

This was a slam like someone slamming a cup onto a table. Across from me, I finally noticed a young girl and I had no doubt this was an older twelve year old version of my seven year old sister. She wore earth kingdom robes and had her feet casually propped up on the table. Her arms were crossed and she had her long black hair tied into a bun on top of her head, held back by a green headband. I noticed she now wore the golden flying boar necklace I had never taken off since I was given it. Her bangs hung in her still sightless grey eyes. "Well I think you all look great!" she exclaimed, taking about the picture the water tribe boy had poorly drawn.

And for the first time since I could remember, I threw my head back. Instead of shaking with sobs and tears, my body shook with laughter, mixed in with the laughter of these complete strangers.

And I knew that although we clearly came from different cultures, lives, and homes, I knew that this was my family, rather it be by blood or not.

Years passed and I forced that dream to the back of my mind, with hopes of never remembering it. It was no use of dreaming about people who didn't even exist. Maybe Toph did but that was only because I had figured her into my dreams as someone I dreamed of her becoming. Of being strong and independent and powerful, something our parents would never allow to happen.

I was nearing my thirteenth birthday when I finally got the courage to leave home. I only left because mom was taking to father one night and I overheard, having figured out how to use my earth bending to sneak out of my room to the kitchens for food. They were talking about arrange marriages to get rid of me since my turn of adulthood was only two years away, before I was officially acknowledged as woman of marriageable age. The prime choice was some duke on the other side of the earth kingdom at least twenty years older than I was.

I refused to let that happen. That was where I would draw the line. I was an earth bender which meant I was stubborn and firm. I was a fire bender which meant I was powerful and strong. They may have tried to clip my 'wings' but maybe it was time that I finally let them grow.

Maybe it was time to free myself from my chains and become my own person. Someone I never thought existed. I was stuck on the ground but maybe it was time to take on to the unknown.

Sadly, I couldn't say the same for my nine year old sister, Toph. I knew that if I took her with me, I would never be able to provide for her. I knew that someday, she needed to make her own choices. Would she become our parents greatest pride by becoming something she was clearly not? Or would she become who she is meant to truly be and break free of the chains that was forced upon her from birth at the price of our parents love. I knew that would never love her for who she truly was. But would she make the mistake of fighting for their love, or would she realize it was a losing battle and be who she was anyway?

Hopefully she wouldn't make a mistake before it becoming too late.

So the night of that conversation, I snuck into my sister's room in the dead of night on the other side of the estate. I woke her up and regrettable told her that I would be leaving. She had to stand on her own two feet and decide who she wanted to be. I wouldn't be able to make that kind of choice for her. But before I left, I pulled off my necklace and put it around her neck, pushing it behind her shirt. It wouldn't do good for our parents to realize she had it.

I left that night, using my earth bending to sneak over the wall, creating holdings for me to grab onto and heave myself over. Nobody was even the wiser.

And I honestly believed I would never see this family again although it filled me with great regret that I would not be able to see my sister grow. I could only hope that when she got older, she would not resent me.

I traveled for quite some time. I was always dirty but washed up in freezing stream water. My hair was knotted up and the only clothes I owned were the ones on my back were always covered in dirt. However, I felt freer than I ever did before.

I would practice my earth bending during the day. As I explored the woods, not going into towns, I tied the blindfold I always had in my pocket, my feet bare, and chuck rocks at earth bent targets I made beforehand. I was getting stronger and stronger. It took some time but watching others from the trees, I learned how to hunt, from deer moose's to dog fishes, and collecting fruit. I was getting pretty used to living in the wild. I practiced my fire bending at night when nobody was around.

I knew I should hate that part of myself and I did but I knew from watching fire nation soldiers that fire bending was very strong and emotionally based. If I didn't learn how to control it, then I could accidently hurt someone. I refused to let that happen so I forced myself to learn. I wasn't anywhere that good as someone trained was but at least I could control it enough to not hurt someone. I learned mainly from watching and studying fire nation soldiers when they would campout in the woods passing through. Besides, the fire would keep me warm at night since I didn't have to learn how to set fires without fire bending. I started learning that…fire was life and everyone needed it to survive. Too bad nobody else could see it so I learned to hide it.

I had these abilities. I didn't know why the spirits gifted me with having both fire and earth but I knew I had to be the strongest I could be. Not to only protect myself but protect anybody I found getting harassed, mostly by fire bending soldiers, wandering lost through the woods.

Soon, a year had passed and I had just turned fourteen when I finally ventured into a small earth kingdom town after trying to clean myself up. I knew I looked like a homeless kid but that was better than the runaway heiress of a prominent family. Which was exactly what I wanted.

However, things didn't go as planned. I only wanted to see if I could get along in human society. Through a slip of hand, I sadly swiped money from people I passed. Although I only took from the fancy looking people, obviously the richest in town.

My clothes were mostly in tatters and rips as I had spent nearly a year living in the woods. My hair had grown longer just passed my shoulders. I was growing up and I knew these clothes weren't going to do anymore which was the main reason I decided to come back. From the money I took, I managed to get a new outfit. It had been months I've turned fourteen.

I finally got some shoes, black flats. My feet were sore and covered in calluses from walking through the woods. Although I made sure the soles were thin enough I was practically touching the earth with only that thin layer of material. I had ankle length baggy green pants that were tight at my waist so they wouldn't come off. Then I had a long sleeve green form fitting shirt. One piece of the material stretched across my chest and stomach, the left having the long sleeve. The right side had material coming out of the top and giving me another long sleeve. I managed to tie my hair into a ponytail with a thin see through green ribbon. Now my hair had bangs brushing just into my eyes and my hair was thick and since it was in a ponytail, it was now raised higher to brushing the back of my neck instead of passed my shoulders.

I also bought a second outfit for later use, putting it in the bag I managed to get over the months. It came from the only fire nation store in the town, run by fire nation as this town had been overtaken. It was just a pair of plain black pants. Then a red shirt that showed my midriff and had a single thick strap over my left shoulder. My right arm was bare except for the golden bracelet I had snagged. I just thought it would look nice, maybe tie the whole outfit together.

As I was leaving, an accident happened. Seeing a little girl about seven being beaten for trying to get food, I took the beating off of her. I got like an image sight of it being Toph for a brief moment. I didn't even think before I started fire bending.

The next second I knew, I was being beaten by the villagers, curled up into a tiny ball as I got beaten for the first time in nearly a year. But someone else had seen what I had done for that little girl and was now taking the punishment.

A kind middle-aged man, obviously water tribe, ended up saving me, carrying my bruised half conscious body to his boat.

And that was exactly what changed my lonely and broken life...forever.


End file.
